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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bank — for money
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. present — a gift
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. present — there
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bank — of a river
  13. kick — in football
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — a video
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a great time
  19. present — the time now
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bank — for money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com